Nbc's Lucky Day: Tiger And The Bulls Play On Friday The 13th

Fantastic Friday - FROM THE CHEAP SEAT

It's almost embarrassing to talk to anyone from NBC Sports this week. After all, it's difficult to have a serious conversation with anyone who keeps giggling and grinning all the time.

The NBA playoffs have been dominating prime time for them in recent weeks and should give them great numbers tonight. And if they are really lucky on this Friday the 13th, the Jazz will find some way of winning in Chicago and forcing the Bulls to play one more game before it's finally over.

Meanwhile, they've got the U.S. Open, too, which is sure to last until Sunday. And that tournament suddenly has become a wonderful event to have. (No, not because Steve Jones is the defending champion.)

Consider NBC's telecast of NBA Title Game No. 5 on Wednesday night. Near the end of this thriller as Michael Jordan was swishing 3-pointers from the bumper of an ambulance, nothing but net, Marv Albert still found time to joyously shout, hallelujah, amen, that:

''NBC is proud to present the U.S. Open.'' And guess whose smiling image was on the screen? Hint: He's the highest-ranked Cablinasian on the PGA Tour.

Maltbie: ''Tiger will have to earn his stripes. I don't think we'll follow him if his golf game doesn't merit it.''

Miller: ''Oh, we'll follow him - just not as much.''

Got to like Miller's moxie. So, Johnny, is Tiger getting too much hype?

''He's deserved every bit of it,'' Miller said. ''There hasn't been this much excitement (on the tour) since Arnold and Jack were dueling it out. The only thing that would make it better is if the best players would step up and go head-to-head with him.''

Well, who are these guys?

Maltbie first mentioned Greg Norman, saying, ''I don't believe him when he says it's nice to be No. 2.''

Both quickly mentioned Tom Lehman.

(Note that Lehman and Steve Jones are friends. Two wild and woolly guys.)

Miller nominated Phil Mickelson as the perfect young candidate to rise up to do battle with the Tiger. Miller: ''Phil would like to show people, 'Hey, Tiger, I can beat him.' ''

Still, you get the feeling that nobody believes it. That nobody believes any one golfer can come close to taking on Tiger Woods - and that all of them together have about a 50-50 chance of taking him each week.

Is that hype? Maltbie provided a realistic yardstick, noting that from 1962 through 1980, Jack Nicklaus finished first, second or third in 54 percent of the major events he entered.

So that's an honest bet - an even-money wager that Tiger Woods will finish in the top three this week.

(And, no matter what happened at the Congressional on Thursday, you've got to trust me that everything written here was without prior knowledge.)

A final remark from Miller:

''This guy (Woods) is not a normal person. He's another Jack Nicklaus. And Jack is the only guy who ever thanked me for making a tournament interesting by giving him some competition. Tiger is like that.''

And wouldn't it be interesting if their scores put Tiger and Fuzzy Zoeller in the same pairing Saturday or Sunday?

SPEAKING OF PONIES: If you didn't delight in yet another thrilling race at the Belmont Stakes, well, I feel sorry for you. You really, truly, don't know what you're missing.

Now we have an interesting comparison between golf and horse racing.

As previously mentioned, the one thing Tiger Woods can't bring to the PGA Tour is a competitor who can match him, shot for shot. Unless, of course, human cloning is legalized.

(''Be sure to watch this week's Guano Invitational! Tiger Woods Nos. 6, 12 and 18 will be here, while No. 22 will be the network's guest analyst.'')

So how long will our hyped interest in golf last without a rivalry?

Meanwhile, when Silver Charm failed to win the Triple Crown, the immediate reaction was that his loss was a disaster for racing. I'm not so sure.

What we have now is the opportunity for one, two or three rematch races between Silver Charm, Belmont winner Touch Gold and frustrated Free House - leading up to what could be the greatest Breeders' Cup Classic ever on Nov. 8 at Hollywood Park.

WHAT'S THIS THING FOR? Yes, that's what American League pitchers will be asking as they hold a bat in their shaking hands.

Interleague baseball is here. Salvation or damnation?

My guess is that the outcome will be neither - just tawdry.

America will not embrace major-league baseball because Baltimore gets to play Atlanta before the World Series. America certainly won't get excited when Houston gets to play Minnesota.

But baseball fanatics will have to accept that every baseball record is forever tarnished. Every record will now need an asterisk, denoting if it was set B.I.P (Before Interleague Play).

And how is baseball going to feel if, say, Ken Griffey Jr. finishes with 59 home runs after being baffled by National League pitchers he has never seen before and may never see again?

Be careful before you make a wish.

FLASH! THIS JUST IN: The major-league baseball team in Detroit has just announced that it has changed its nickname. It will now be known as the Detroit Woods.